


your servant comes in bells

by cheinsaw



Series: fate week pieces [2]
Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Fifth Holy Grail War, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28690290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheinsaw/pseuds/cheinsaw
Summary: It's perfect. It has to be.Fate/Stay Night AU. During the Fuyuki Grail War of 2004, Rin summons Archer-class Servant Oda Nobunaga.fate week day two - "summon"
Series: fate week pieces [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106921
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21
Collections: Fate Week 2021 Fic Collection





	your servant comes in bells

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by this art: https://mobile.twitter.com/i/web/status/856460857294716928

It's perfect. It has to be, after all. Rin has spent her entire life preparing for this moment, this Holy Grail War. Her summoning circle is precise, exact. She's done everything right. All that's left is to wait for the right time, and she's sure to summon a Servant from the Saber class. From there, her victory is all but assured.

And the summoning, too, is perfect. It goes off without a hitch, and Rin senses a well-controlled power pulsing from the Servant. It's just a matter of introducing herself, and…

The first thing she sees is red. Then, flashes of gold. There's smoke, and it smells like gunpowder, and when everything clears there's a girl in a military uniform kneeling in the middle of Rin's circle. Her gaudy hat seems to have an old-style family crest, and she looks Japanese, so that could be some kind of advantage. A sword in a gold-decorated scabbard is at her hip—yes, this will do. And then the Servant _talks_.

"Wow, nice place you got here," she says, in a squeaky, lighthearted voice. "Almost as nice as my castle! I'll give you that."

Rin has to take a second to get her bearings. "Servant," she says, caught off guard by this less-than-formal introduction. "Saber. I am your Master for this Holy Grail War. I'm looking—"

"Saber? Did you say Saber?" The Servant gets to her feet, gold greaves clanking together with a metallic sound as she rights herself. She's tiny, too. Nearly a full head shorter than Rin. "Sorry, forgot to introduce myself, Master! Archer-class Servant, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Oda Nobunaga, at your service." She gives a flourishing, Western-style bow, and with it a flutter of her bright red cape.

"Archer?" Rin repeats. "But, your sword…?"

"Yeah, I'm sure! One hundred percent Archer! I try not to use Heshikiri unless I really need to." She pats the scabbard; this, too, bangs hollowly against her greaves.

"Hold on," Rin says, feeling a headache start to worm its way into the back of her brain. "I've seen what Oda Nobunaga looks like, and it's definitely not you. If we're going to work together, I suggest you tell me your True Name so we can get things started. Okay?" She forces a smile to her face.

"I did! I'm Oda Nobunaga! Ah, but you can call me Nobbu. So, Master? Who are you?"

Rin has to fight the urge to scream.

"Servant—" she says, flashing hot impulse boiling in her veins, and her Command Seals burn on her hand. _No. No, can't waste them._ She takes a few short, deep breaths, and tries to settle herself through gritted teeth. "Alright… Archer. My name is Rin. I look forward to… working with you."

Nobunaga laughs at this, full-on and in her face. "Man, you are a _terrible_ actor! You should see yourself! Well, alright. Nice to meet you too, Rin- _chan_."

Rin nearly explodes.

Nobunaga continues to infuriate her as the night goes on. She seems to have no respect for Rin, the ritual of the Grail War itself, or anything else. "Win? Of course I'm going to win!" she cackles, spreading herself out on Rin's couch like she owns the Tohsaka estate. "That kind of power definitely should go to me, right? I mean, I wasn't done when I died! Hahaha, I haven't decided what I'm gonna do with it yet, though."

"You don't _know_?" Rin asks, trying not to throttle her own Servant.

"Yeah. I guess the first thing I'd do would have a nice drink out of it. It's a cup, right?"

Rin doesn't have an answer.

By the following night things start to pick up, just as Rin knew they would. Emiya is involved in this too, somehow. And of course, he has the Saber—a woman in blue and red with peachy-pale hair and a katana in each hand. She's strong, incredibly so, but Rin doesn't really _want_ to fight Emiya right now. Despite Nobunaga's whining protests, they call a truce. "We can pick them off later," Rin tells her, once they're alone. "I know Emiya-kun, and it's better for us to work together right now. Once we've taken out most of the others, getting him and Saber out of the picture should be easy."

"Hmmmmm," Nobunaga says, furrowing her brows. "Well, okay! I dunno if it's what I would do, but it's not like Monkey's here to stop me, so!" She laughs, showing her teeth. "Anyway, Master, I wanna try those crepe things we saw earlier! Come on, come on!"

It's only when they encounter Lancer that Rin really sees how Nobunaga shines. An open field, under the moonlight—nothing around but trees, and Rin and the two Servants. The Lancer is clearly an experienced fighter, dressed in dark colors and wielding a bloodred spear like it's part of her own body, and yet—

Nobunaga dances. Hundreds and hundreds of matchlock rifles appear, all at her command, firing smoke and gunpowder into the night. She laughs, scary-furious, and commands them with ease. "I am the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven," she growls, with none of the lightheartedness she's shown Rin before, and unleashes her Noble Phantasm, a torrent of bullets. "Show your corpse to the three thousand worlds, Lancer!"

The Lancer retreats, of course, on orders from her Master. Who wouldn't, after seeing that? But Rin, nevertheless, is impressed—even if she hates to admit it. Perhaps, she thinks, there's potential for them to win this war after all.

**Author's Note:**

> shirou has miyamoto musashi and bazett has scáthach! i am... how do you say... a lesbian.


End file.
